Requirement changes on hold until final Task Force report

A recent reorganization of academic committees and new recommendations from the Task Force on the Undergraduate Experience have breathed new life into a possible curriculum reform.

It seems likely, however, that the Task Force's initiatives to change aspects of the University's curriculum will face a long, uphill battle before implementation. Curriculum reform must go through a variety of committees, sub-committees and boards before it could ever be put into effect.

In recent years, there have been many proposals made to change Tufts' general curriculum requirements _ none have been implemented.

The University now has four separate committees responsible for discussing proposals to change academic policy. Two curriculum committees, one for the College of Arts & Sciences and one for the School of Engineering, make decisions on approving new classes, distribution, and foundation requirements.

The two other committees are the Educational Policy Committee (EPC), which is responsible for decisions affecting both Arts & Sciences and Engineering students, including graduate students and the Academic Review Board (ARB), which handles student petitions. The ARB was created in order to consolidate the several committees that had previously filled the role.

"If a student wants to see if a course will count for World Civilization or Language credit and it isn't already approved, they bring it before us to consider," ARB Chairman Fulton Gonzales said. "We deal in the gray areas."

Students can petition to the ARB at anytime concerning course credit. The all-faculty committee also holds several meetings a semester to discuss pressing issues, but it does not have the authority to make new policy recommendations.

The Educational Policy Committee (EPC) debates recommendations that affect all Arts, Sciences, and Engineering undergraduates, it handles decisions that could be adopted by both curriculum committees. In addition to the Arts and Sciences and Engineering Curriculum Committees, the EPC is also devoting its time to the recommendations of the Task Force.

"The majority of our agenda this upcoming semester will be focused on reviewing the Task Force's initiatives," said David Mulholland, Co-Chair of the EPC.

According to Mulholland, there would be "two or three" issues in the Task Force's Interim Report Part II, released on Jan. 22, which fall under the jurisdiction of the EPC. One recent proposal to the faculty submitted by the EPC would allow students to double major with a minor.

All plans for changes to classes and to distribution and foundation requirements must first pass through one of these committees before going to a faculty vote.

The committees recently approved some new courses, but debates on major changes have been put on hold. "It's pretty difficult to make changes [to the curriculum]," said Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senator Rick Dalyai. "It goes through the faculty to the department, not an easy task for students to be involved with."

The committees have been waiting for a report from the Task Force before beginning discussion on any significant overhauls. This has limited any action that the committees could have performed over the past academic year and with everything on hold, the Arts & Sciences Curriculum Committee met just one time last semester.

Dean of the Colleges Charles Inouye said that putting the work of the committees on hold ensures that new projects would not have to be changed after the release of the Task Forces's report.

The Task Force's Interim Report Part II challenged the faculty to "renew our thinking about and our enthusiasm for breadth, depth, and personal development as parts of a Tufts education." To do this, the Task Force recommended that the University "consider a new approach to requirements that would provide incentives to encourage departments and faculty to infuse more courses with substantial writing, speaking, and critical thinking components."

Because the ultimate decision to approve a change lies in the hands of the teaching body, the administration is only able to make suggestions and organize the process of changing requirements.

"At a university, we value academic freedom," Inouye said. "We have a system for tenure, which protects professors from things other people may not like. For the same reason, the curriculum is the privy of the faculty."

A majority of university faculty must approve all changes in requirements. Before a proposal comes to a vote, it must clear the respective student-faculty committee the proposal was assigned to.

The EPC will hold its first meeting of the semester today to discuss goals for this term. Meetings are open and are regularly attended by four student representatives.